“Is Ulric headed this way yet?”
Zion grimaced and rubbed the area just above the bridge of his nose, a sign of tension. “Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I’m pleased Nikki will have strong mates to protect her if and when the time comes. Even with you living in former Lycan lands, I expect you’ll be at her side at the first sign of trouble.”
Luke smiled at the mention of his mate. “That’s actually what I came here to talk about.”
“What is it?” The deepening frown on Zion’s face told Luke he expected to hear something unpleasant.
“I should have come to talk to you sooner, but I’m turning your offer down. I’ve come to…appreciate…Nikki, and I’m not going to leave her.”
“You…appreciate her? Interesting way to put it.” Zion sighed again and motioned Luke to sit down. “Look, Luke, if this is a whim, the fallout when you eventually decide you’ve had enough could be devastating for everyone involved. And I love my daughter. If you break her heart, I’ll do everything in my power to break you. If you’re still unsure, best to get out now before she falls in love with you or you get her pregnant.”
This was usually where he’d give a smart-ass answer, but he ignored the impulse. Nikki’s father might not be as forgiving of his sarcasm as his father was, and now that he’d decided to stay, he wanted her father to like him. “No, it’s not a whim. I’ve…developed feelings for her, strong feelings.”
“How does Nikki feel about your change of heart?”
Luke shrugged. “We never discussed your offer in the first place. Besides, I think she feels the same for me.”
“You think?”
“I know.”
Zion stood and walked around the desk to clap a large hand on his shoulder, hard enough to bruise a man any smaller than Luke. “Well, I can only say I’m pleased, but if you screw things up with her, Luke. If you come back a week, a month, even a year from now, saying you changed your mind and now you want your freedom, I’ll make your life hell. I won’t take kindly to it, and neither will those who remain loyal to me.”
“That won’t happen.” He’d made the decision to stay with her because now that he’d lain by her side night after night, he couldn’t imagine spending even a single night apart from her. And somehow it had snuck up on him. The idea of telling her they wouldn’t have a life together had become almost physically painful. “I’ll be with her for as long as she will have me.”
“Good. I’m glad you came to your senses. I’m not entirely surprised. She is a very special young woman.”
She sure is, Luke thought, but he simply nodded in agreement. This conversation had been far easier than he’d expected. Clearly, Zion didn’t hold a grudge.
As he stood and turned to go, Zion called to him, his voice very serious. “Don’t fuck up.”
* * * *
Nikki had never danced so much, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. Zion and Grey had gone all out for the celebration, having the lower level of the lodge decked out for the event along with the outdoor arena the clan typically used for parties in good weather. They’d hired a band to play outside and another one to keep things lively indoors. And the food—instead of having his cooking staff handle that, her father had hired a catering group that did business in the neighboring town. It was shifter-owned, of course, and the spread was enough to make her eyes pop out of her head. There was everything from Kobe beef and filet mignon to lobster and shrimp. Nikki was particularly excited about the seafood. While she loved a juicy steak, she couldn’t get enough of crab, shrimp, and lobster. Tonight, though, she’d hardly had time to pop more than a bacon-wrapped scallop or two in her mouth before one of her men was whisking her back off to the dance floor. She didn’t mind. Their bodies moved in as perfect unison on the dance floor as they did in the bedroom, and Nikki was enjoying herself too much to care about eating.
Of course, the threesome spent most of their time outdoors. They preferred swaying to the music with the fresh air bathing their skin. And it wasn’t only her men who wanted to dance. As one alpha’s daughter, she was obliged to dance with those who asked her, within reason, of course. Her men made a point of staring down each man who asked, ensuring that no one else got too comfortable or flirtatious on the dance floor. The only men who didn’t get that treatment were her brothers and Zion. Even Grey got something of a cold shoulder. Her friends seemed to have a good time as well, and Nikki was happy to see them dancing their hearts out on the dance floor. They even managed to squeeze some all-girl dancing in when the band played one of their favorite old songs. Her men graciously went off in search of drinks while she and her friends partied, cackling with laughter as they tried to remember the dances of their teen years.
Nikki had only planned to dance with her friends for a song or two, but it was several songs later before she spotted Luke and Mason standing on the sidelines again. Not that she’d been looking for them. Oh, who am I kidding? It’s almost like I have built-in radar just for them.
“I’ll be back, ladies,” she told Mikayla and Robyn, who laughed and gave her knowing looks.
“Right. You’re coming back to us, when you have that standing over there?” Robyn asked, eyebrows raised, pointing to where Nikki’s men stood bearing gifts.
Mikayla winked. “Don’t worry about us. This is your night. Go ahead and enjoy it.”
“Yeah,” Robyn agreed. “I know if I ever get that lucky, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Besides, we can get our girl time in later.”
Tossing a grateful smile at her friends, Nikki navigated through dancing couples, having to remind herself that it wasn’t necessary to break into a run to get there. “What’s all this?” she asked, eyeing the plates and cups her men were balancing.
Mason lifted one of the plates he held slightly. “We figured you had to be hungry.”
“So,” Luke added, “we brought you a little bit of anything.”
“And those?” Nikki already knew the answer, but she couldn’t help pointing to other plates they held, the ones piled high with enough food to make even someone like her, a woman with a peppy metabolism and a healthy appetite, sick.
Mason shrugged. “All this dancing works up an appetite.”
Luke led them to one of the outdoor tables lit by a candlelight centerpiece. Mason insisted on having her sit on his lap while Luke fed her, asking her to point out what she wanted next.
She half-heartedly protested between bites of shrimp and crab. “But your food will get cold. Seriously, I’m more than capable of feeding myself.”
Luke lifted his fork to her lips, cutting off her protests. “It’s more fun this way. Watching you eat is the next best thing to slipping between your lips myself.”
Nikki wasn’t sure if it was the way he looked at her, the feel of Mason’s arms around her, or the spiced rum drink they’d given her to sip, but she suddenly felt flushed all over.
“You know, you’re beautiful when you blush like that.” Luke leaned forward to lick a stray crumb off her bottom lip.
“You’re always beautiful,” Mason added, nuzzling her neck. His lips sent shivers up her spine.
“Mason’s right, but when you blush, it makes me want to throw you over my shoulder and take you back to bed.”
Nikki opened her mouth to say she was ready to go when the only bad thing about her night made an appearance. Her cousin Jackie materialized at the table, sitting down without an invitation and blowing Nikki’s pre-sex buzz.
“There you are,” she said in that saccharine-sweet voice that always grated on Nikki’s nerves. “I’ve been wanting to say congratulations again. Every time I made to walk over to you, though, it was like you got lost in the crowd.” Nikki wasn’t surprised to hear that. She’d made it her business to avoid the woman.
Jackie turned her fake smile on Luke and Mason next, and Nikki could swear it grew four times as bright. “Nikki is lucky to have two big, strapping men like you taking care of
her like this and letting your own food get cold. But you two should eat…” She paused then, laughing just a little too loud. “While you still can.”
“Jackie, really. Can’t you st—”
The bitch just waved Nikki’s words off. “You know I don’t mean any harm. You’ve always been my favorite cousin. Even back when the other kids were teasing you. Did you know they called her the most awful names? What were they? Bucky Beaver and Pizza Face?”
Luke and Mason just stared. Nikki could tell they didn’t know what to make of her cousin, but they could easily sense the tension. “That must have been really hard on her,” Luke said, and Nikki appreciated the pointed tone he used.
Mason squeezed her arm and kissed her neck. “It’s probably not something she wants to remember.”
“You’re right, of course,” Jackie demurred. “Sometimes, Nikki gets a little sensitive about it, even after all these years. But listen, about what I was saying earlier, even Nikki will tell you she can’t cook. Honestly, she could burn water. So when you feel like you can’t even look at another frozen dinner, come look me up in town. I’ll cook something special for you. Anything to help my cousin out.”
Nikki was stunned by Jackie’s tone more than her words. It was obvious the woman was talking about more than just food. Without thinking, she jumped to her feet, ready to give Jackie a piece of her mind and a sound slap to go with it.
Liz must have been watching. She got there just in time to drag Jackie off by the arm. “C’mon, Jackie. I’m sure there’s some trouble…oops, I mean fun…you can find elsewhere. Let’s give the love birds some space.”
When Liz glanced back at Nikki, she mouthed “thank you” at her friend. Who knew what might have happened if Liz hadn’t come to the rescue? She tried to take a seat at the table, but Luke pulled her onto his lap.
“Want to talk about it?” he asked quietly.
“No.” Nikki put extreme effort into shaking off her anger. “At least not now. I don’t want to let her spoil our evening. It’s what she wants.”
“Then, we won’t. As far as I’m concerned, she’s already forgotten,” Luke said.
Mason knelt down and pulled her forward for a sensual kiss. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m in the mood for a quick trip back to our room. Just for a little break.”
Luke ran his hands gently over Nikki’s thighs. “I need a little…break…too.”
Just thinking about having a naughty quickie in the middle of the party rendered her breathless. “But what about your food? You haven’t eaten anything.”
Luke got to his feet, taking her with him. “We’ll eat later. Right now, the only thing we’re hungry for is you.”
Chapter 9
The morning after the party that marked the end of the hydan, Nikki woke early, surprised to find herself alone in bed. Over the last couple of weeks, she’d grown used to waking to her men’s scents and their heat. They, more often than not, woke her up with soft kisses and sleepy touches. Wondering where they’d both gone, she tossed and turned for a bit, trying to go back to sleep, but eventually gave up the fight. Either she’d already slept enough or she was getting used to having their arms around her.
She stretched and scooted to the edge of the bed. Maybe they’d gone to discuss their roles in the newly merged clan. Mason had previously worked as an ambassador of sorts, building and nurturing alliances with other clans. This required a good deal of travel, and she suspected he might choose to take on a different role now that they were mated. She didn’t expect him to change his entire life for her, though. If he still wanted to travel, she would wait happily for him to return, or maybe she could just go with him.
Nikki wasn’t sure how that would work with Luke, though. Would he choose to travel with them? He didn’t talk much about his own role with the clan, but she’d learned he was something of an enforcer and strategist. Life would change now that they were together, but she would support her men no matter what, provided, of course, that they supported her. And she believed they would. Just the way Mason looked at her told her that she was already the center of his universe, and Luke…Well, Luke had begun to exhibit an affection that surprised her. She had difficulty reconciling him with the callous man she’d met just months ago. For all of his claiming not to want a mate, he’d become attentive, even possessive.
As for Nikki, it was high time she had a more important role to play in the clan as well. She’d gone to school for nursing and had played assistant to clan doctors for years, often taking patients without a doctor’s supervision. Things were rather disorganized, however, and sick or injured clan members often had a difficult time tracking down a clan doctor or nurse when they needed help. Now that the clan was so much larger, and with the possibility of war looming, Nikki thought it was time to create a more organized system for medical care, and she wanted to be the one to head that effort.
Well, Nikki decided, she might as well head out to breakfast. This would be her last night sleeping in the lodge, and most of the guests would leave today and head back to their own homes. Soon, one of them would have to prepare meals day and night, and she sure hoped Mason or Luke could cook. Jackie might be a bitch, but she’d gotten one thing right. Cooking wasn’t Nikki’s forte.
* * * *
Thirty minutes later, Nikki sat at one of the long dining room tables with Mikayla and Robyn, having managed to drag them out of bed to eat with her. Tomorrow, Mikayla would go back to her house in Silver Spring and her job as an architect. Robyn lived in River’s Bend, just a few cabins down from the lodge, so she and Nikki could see each other more often, but it was the last time the three of them would probably get to have breakfast together for a while. Liz lived in New York, where she was trying to get noticed in the design industry. She’d left for home as soon as the party ended last night.
“You know what?” Robyn asked. “I think I’m going to volunteer to help with greeting members from Clan Lycan. I mean, just look at the way you’re glowing. I need some of that.”
Nikki laughed. Was she really glowing? “Well, I can’t blame you for trying. I have to say, I’m happy.”
Mikayla pointed her fork at Nikki before taking a bite of pancake. “We can tell. You can’t stop smiling. When I told you Axel had gotten drunk and thrown up in the hallway last night, you were like ‘Oh, damn,’ but the whole time you were grinning like you won the lottery or something.”
Robyn looked thoughtful as she cut into a huge sausage patty. “You deserve to be happy, but I can’t help wondering. What changed between you and Luke? You must have really thrown it on him.”
“I don’t honestly know. He acted like King of the Assholes when we met. I mean, I couldn’t ignore how sexy he was, but I seriously wanted to punch him in the mouth as much as I wanted to take him to bed. He was even a major dick on our joining night, but since the first night we were all together, he’s been amazing.”
“Just like that?” Robyn asked.
“Well, it was a little awkward at first, but each day he opened up a little bit more. And the sex…”
Both women perked up at that word, and Nikki had to laugh. “No, sorry. No details. Let’s just say it’s been beyond imagination.”
Robyn raised an eyebrow, looking doubtful. “My imagination is pretty good.”
“Beyond imagination,” Nikki repeated. “And I think…I think this might actually be a love match after all. No way in hell did I think so before, but now…” Nikki lost her train of thought as her nose picked up a familiar scent that made her groan inside.
“Hey, ladies.”
Nikki looked up at the sound of a female voice, fervently wishing that just this once, she was wrong about whom the voice belonged to. But her sensitive nose was right. It was Jackie.
Mikayla and Robyn only barely managed to mumble, “Hello,” but Nikki just waited. She wasn’t sure what was coming, but she knew it wouldn’t be good.
Jackie gave her usual phony smile and sat down at the table w
ithout waiting for an invitation. “I just wanted to sit for a bit before I hit the road,” Jackie said, giving Nikki an appraising look. “You look positively radiant, Nikki. Being mated obviously agrees with you.”
Nikki simply smiled. “Thank you, Jackie.” She braced herself for the punchline. Jackie rarely said anything positive without chasing it with an insult of some sort. She wondered if she looked just as tense as her friends did. They, too, had been on the wrong side of Jackie’s barbs one time too many.
“You’re welcome, cuz. You know, I was just saying to Uncle Zion how lucky you are to have a handsome mate like Mason. It’s obvious he’s got it bad for you.”
“Um…okay.” Where was she going with this? It couldn’t be anywhere good.
“Don’t give Luke a second thought. You won’t be the first to live separately from your mate, and you’ll have Mason’s big, strong arms to keep you warm, anyway.”
“Separate from my mate?” Nikki felt like she was running in slow motion, trying to catch up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“There’s no need to be embarrassed. After all, we’re family. Everyone knows you can’t always have a love match, and we all know how hard you tried to make it happen. You probably thought you two would get close during the hydan, but it takes a special woman to hold onto that kind of man. Everybody’s talking about how sorry we feel for you. The fact that Luke doesn’t want to live with you, well, who can blame you for that?”
Robyn’s voice filled the stunned silence. “You bitch.”
Then Mikayla. “Leave. Just go, Jackie. No one wants to hear what you have to say.”
Jackie shook her head, her green eyes glittering with joy. “Why are you getting so bent out of shape? I said no one blames her for it. The cover story they made up was a good one, that Luke was urgently needed for some project or another, but somehow the whole story just leaked.”
Nikki's Fated [Wolves of River's Bend 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 14
